Monday, October 9, 2017

Investing time, talent, and treasure in others


A WITNESS BY GARY RATLIFF

I have a confession. As I sat down to write this article, I thought to myself, “what exactly is the definition of ‘stewardship’?”

Coming from someone who is a member of Christ Church’s Stewardship Committee, that seems like an odd question, right? After all, the entire committee is committed to work with everyone in our church to find ways to do God’s work with the gifts he has given us. How do I not know what the definition of “stewardship” is?

Well, fortunately in our age of instant connectivity I was able to pull up the “official” Merriam-Webster definition:
the conducting, supervising, or managing of something; especially: the careful and responsible management of something entrusted to one's care stewardship of natural resources (source)
As I read that definition and thought about it, it struck me as rather impersonal and vague. Frankly, it’s hard to get excited about being on a committee that “manages something.”

It occurred to me that the question I really should be asking is, what does stewardship mean to me? This “personal definition” is more important than Merrian-Webster’s definition.

I grew up in the southwestern part of this state where mountains and valleys stretch as far as the eye can see. It is an area of real natural beauty, and I consider myself fortunate to have spent my youth there. Another, more important, part of my youth was the church that I attended as a child. We had a long drive to get there each Sunday morning, but it was during Sunday School and by listening to the message where I first learned about Jesus and God’s plan for us.

I learned about Jonah and the whale. I learned about Jesus feeding the multitudes. I learned about men and women whose faith was so strong that they were willing to give their life for what they believed. Most importantly, I learned that God has a plan for all of us, if we just open our hearts and believe. I might not have learned any of these things had the members of my church not invested their time, talents and treasure for me and others in our faith community.

I’m older now, but those lessons have stayed with me. Now that I have young children, I want them to have the same experience – to learn the same lessons that I did, with the hope that they will remember them, as I do, when they are older.

My “personal definition” of stewardship is to make sure that our faith community has
the resources to be able to teach our children about God’s plan for them, just like the members of my childhood church did for me.


You may have a different “personal definition” of stewardship than I do. As a member of our faith community, I hope the gift of time, talents and treasure that my family gives help to support your definition of stewardship in some way.

October is the month when Christ Church’s Annual Giving Appeal takes place. You should have received a letter and a pledge card from the church. As you are prayerfully considering what you may be able to pledge, please take a moment to reflect on how our faith community has impacted you. From experience, I can tell you that your time, talents and treasure do impact our faith community. Thank you for all you do! - Gary Ratliff

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http://www.christchurchrichmond.com/give

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